Since our first game against Reykjavik in 1964 we’ve played
teams from most of the 50 countries that make up Europe, which got me thinking
what are the best stadiums and cities I’ve visited while following the
Liverbird? The three I have chosen are considered to be the real cathedrals of
football and some of the most difficult to get a result in, we’ve managed to
get a win in all three in recent years… as the banner said “Them Scousers
Again”.
Camp Nou
Barcelona 1:2 Liverpool – Deco, Craig Bellamy, John Arne
Riise
Champions League Last 16, 1st Leg
Visited: 21st February 2007
From main station: Metro, five minutes on L5 from Sants
Estacio to Collblanc
Camp Nou is the largest football stadium in Europe and home
to FC Barcelona. It has a capacity of 99,354 seats. FC Barcelona, the proud
visualisation of everything that is Catalan, like to say that they are ‘mès que
un club’ (more than a club). Their home trounces any other in Europe for size.
On a summer’s night, with the lights of the city twinkling behind spectators
and the players mere specks on the far-off playing pitch, you certainly feel
the expansiveness.
The City of Barcelona
There are bigger, grander, posher cities in Europe. It may
not share the profile of a London, New York or Paris. But I've yet to find a
place that packs so much into such a small space. There's attractions galore.
Something for you whether you're sports mad, a culture vulture or just like
sitting a Spanish street watching the world go by. It's great for a weekend but
you can spend a week here, no problem. Throw in a world standard football team and
the most famous half-built cathedral in the world, and you surely can't go far
wrong. But perhaps the real magic of Barcelona is that it's a city you can
wander and endlessly discover. The Ramblas, the long straight bustling tourist
thoroughfare stretching down to the harbour, may well be where your holiday
begins - but Barcelona is far more than just those bird sellers, actors and
endless street bars. It is a people's city, a working class city. Madrid oozes
class and sophistication but Barca is all grit and pride. Scrape below the
tourist hype and you'll find a slice of real urban Spain. The more you explore
it, the more you will enjoy it.
Stadio Giuseppe Meazza
Internazionale 0:1 Liverpool - Fernando Torres
Champions League Last 16, 2nd Leg
Visited: 11th March 2008
From main station: From Milano Centrale, Milano Porta
Garibaldi and Milano Lambrate stations take underground line 2 (MM2 direction
Abbiategrasso), change at Cadorna FN metro station, take underground line 1
(MM1 direction Rho-Fiera) and get off at Lotto metro station. From Milano Porta
Genova station, take underground line 2 (MM2 direction Cologno/Gessate), change
at Cadorna FN metro station, then take underground line 1 (MM1 direction
Rho-Fiera), and get off at Lotto metro station.
Stadio Guiseppe Meazza, is the home of Milan clubs AC Milan
and FC Internazionale.The stadium has a capacity of 80,018 seats. Better known
as the ‘San Siro’ after the district where it sits like a hulking UFO, the
Giuseppe Meazza is the pick of Italian calcio stadiums. The San Siro makes for a unique cauldron for the weekly
dramas that dictate the lives of tifosi (fans) of both teams. Match day here is
like an oversized Verdi opera production, with a colourful cast of thousands,
carefully choreographed displays of support, and heroes and villains on both
sides.
The City of Milan
Milan. Think high fashion. High class handbags. Cutting edge
clothes. Grand. Expensive. Very expensive. Those were the words that sprang
into my head when I jetted off to the unofficial, self-proclaimed capital of
northern Italy. And at first glance, much of the above can be said to be true.
A shoppers' paradise with classic architecture to boot - and yes, in the wrong
places it can puncture a very large hole in the wallet. But if you can take a
walk away from the heavily touristy areas and there is much more to this city.
There are definitely districts worth a wander, most within walking distance of
the middle. And you're rarely far from a place to linger for a drink or a
pizza, if you don't mind the price. The best place to start is at the Duomo.
It's Milan's big cathedral, a quite outstanding building that's in the heart of
the city. Take a wander inside - and, if it's a clear day head to the rooftop
terrace for a view as far as the Alps. It's free to wander inside and take a
look, with a charge for the rooftop. In
front of the cathedral is Piazza del Duomo, an open square where tourists can
run the gauntlet of some of the more persistent hawkers I’ve had the displeasure
of encountering. Even if you're not a big shopper, you need to take a look
inside the Galleria, Italy's first and probably most famous shopping arcade.
Manchester Arndale it is not. With the Duomo in front of you, the arcade is off
to the left. The glorious interior, from ceiling to floor, are as big an
attraction as the items in the stores themselves. And that's saying something.
It's a who's who of the biggest names in world fashion. Head to the middle and
you have four classic names, one in each corner. Prada, Bernasconi, Louis Vuitton…
and… wait for it… a McDonalds. The big yellow arches have reached here -
although in deference to the surroundings they're not quite as big, or yellow.
Continue through the arcade and out the other side where you arrive in Piazza
de la Scala, home of the La Scala opera house. Now to those in the opera know,
this is the home of opera. This is the very heart of Milan, which with its
classical feel is host to dozens of galleries and museums, too many to list
here. Although special mention needs to go to Leonardo de Vinci's The Last
Supper, one of the world's most famous paintings, which can be found at Santa
Maria dell Grazie. Maybe Milan isn't the most Italian of Italian cities. It
does have its rich side, maybe even appear initially a little aloof but cut
through some first impressions and I have to say the welcome was as warm as
anywhere.
Estadio Santiago Bernabéu
Real Madrid 0:1 Liverpool - Yossi Benayoun
Champions League Last 16, 1st Leg
Visited: 25th February 2009
From main station: Metro, Line 1 to Tribunal, then Line 10
to Santiago Bernabeu
Estadio Santiago Bernabéu is the third largest stadium of
Europe and home to Real Madrid CF. It currently has a capacity of 85,454 seats.
You need to come to the Bernabéu twice. Come once to approach it at leisure,
circumnavigate the towering stadium and tour Real Madrid’s superb museum. Like
many clubs, Real Madrid boast that they are by far the greatest team the world
has ever seen. Unlike anyone else, they’ve got nine European Cups on display in
the museum to prove their credentials. Come back for a match, preferably an
evening game against deadly rivals Barcelona, when it feels like the crowd are
about to topple onto the pitch and the noise is deafening. A blasting from the
heaters, which keep fans rugged up against the chilly Madrid winter nights, is quite
an experience, too.
The City of Madrid
